Democrats wonder hope: Is Progress KY a McConnell front group?

posted at 8:41 am on April 12, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

On one hand, Progress Kentucky has succeeded in ways most political-action committees rarely do. In only four or five months of existence, they have driven the national news cycle not once but twice. Unfortunately for Progress KY and Democrats in the state, they’ve been the scandal both times. Their operatives turned out to be behind the racist tweets attacking Mitch McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao, and now they’ve allegedly managed to out-bumble the Watergate burglars in secretly recording a McConnell campaign meeting, in which they were most definitely not participants.

It’s probably possible for a political group to be worse at accomplishing its core mission than Progress Kentucky is, but it’s difficult to imagine how.

In its short lifespan, the super PAC focused solely on defeating Sen. Mitch McConnell has instead helped the Republican incumbent deflect his low approval rating and conservative critics by subjecting McConnell to comically incompetent political attacks.

“They’ve managed to become McConnell’s favorite whipping boy,” said Jimmy Cauley, a longtime Kentucky Democratic strategist. “It’s kind of laughable because they didn’t exist four months ago. And yet they’ve gotten wrapped up in a string of four or five controversies.”

These guys didn’t even study Watergate long enough to grasp the concept of plausible deniability:

Progress Kentucky’s founder, Shawn Reilly, has denied responsibility for incident — which is now under investigation by the FBI — and has instead saddled the blame with Curtis Morrison, whom Reilly’s attorney calls a “former volunteer” for the PAC.

“Shawn is completely innocent of any criminal wrongdoing,” said Annie O’Connell, Reilly’s lawyer. “He is a witness not a suspect. He has fully cooperated with the with the United States Attorney’s office for the Western district of Kentucky since the recording became public.” …

But Morrison, a Louisville blogger and activist, is actually a former top official with the organization who resigned in March after Progress Kentucky’s last major scandal. BuzzFeed tracked him down, and over email he said he’s “not making a statement at this time.” He did not respond to multiple follow-up calls.

Kentucky Democrats insist that they have nothing to do with Progress KY, but that’s not going to make much difference when the election rolls around. What the voters will remember will be the racist attacks on McConnell’s wife and the dirty-tricks campaign that produced the non-story that Democrats — at least until it began backfiring — embraced enthusiastically.

The epic faceplant has done what had once looked impossible — make Mitch McConnell a sympathetic figure. That leads some to wonder whether Progress KY was a front group for McConnell all along — or rather, hope that it was:

The recording of the McConnell strategy session — whether or not it was illegal — is embarrassing, but not damaging enough to commit political seppuku over. And the tape was released after the focus of the conversation, Judd, had decided not to run. Then there’s the fact that the group, while great at generating McConnell-friendly headlines, appears either unable or uninterested in raising money.

But for the theory to be true, Kentucky Progress would have to be a pretty deep-cover operation. Local Kentucky politics site Page One is running a series on the “dark” past of Shawn Reilly, whom it describes as a “Democratic Party operative.” And Reilly is involved enough that he was a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Curtis Morrison is a local journalist and blogger.

Unfortunately for Democrats, Progress Kentucky is probably closer to the Three Stooges than a stooge for McConnell. The idea that the group is secretly working for the GOP is “wishful thinking on the part of Democrats,” Scott Jennings, chairman of the pro-McConnell PAC Kentuckians for Strong Leadership, tells BuzzFeed. But he is sympathetic to the other party’s desire to move “as far away from these people as possible.” Progress Kentucky is made up of “morons,” and “I don’t know how to measure exactly how badly they’ve damaged Democratic chances in this race, but it is at least a bushel or a barrelful.”

And whoever Democrats nominate to run against McConnell will get to own this disaster, too. Maybe Alison Lundergan Grimes will need to rethink her 2014 plans with that in mind.

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The only reason that bartender at the Romney fundraiser didn’t face wiretapping charges is because one could argue Romney didn’t really have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

I say this inspired Cornholio, and he played a greater role in getting the clowns of Progress KY to try and catch McConnell on tape than we previously thought. Come to think of it, the bartender’s bug was also pretty sophisticated. I wonder how he afforded it on a bartender’s salary?

I started watching for this story to come up the first I saw ResistWeMuch post the link to Drudge after it broke. There is next to nothing. The event that led to the Nixon resignation started with a very small deal. I guess we really do not have a media. We simply have the information wing of the democrats and progressives in this country.

Louisville – Touting his record of leadership, coalition building and getting results to benefit our community; Shawn Reilly announced today his intention to run for State Senate and has filed a letter of intent with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance.

Mother Jones denies it knew the information was/may have been obtained by illegal means.

Who would gain, tremendously, with the GOP in total disarray?

Not Progress KY…the gang that couldn’t shoot straight.

Mother Jones? Not at all. They’ve got their niche market, and a non-existent GOP would mean they’d have to go back to real journalism, which was once their hallmark. That costs money. Being a mouthpiece for Soros is a money maker.

TPM makes contact with Curtis Morrison, the ‘second activist’ in the Kentucky recording scandal. When asked by text about reports that colleague Shawn Reilly had provided the FBI with evidence to help “locate” him, Morrison replied “I have no statement, but thx for head’s up.”

So McConnell is (rightfully) angry about remarks made against his wife’s ethnicity, but has no trouble plotting to attack a potential opponent because she has suffered from depression.

chumpThreads on April 12, 2013 at 9:53 AM

So liberals were (rightfully) angry about a wiretapping that led to the fall of an American President, but has no trouble concentrating on the content of them doing to a republican rather than staying on topic and talking about the crime itself.

Yes, let’s not talk about the mental health of candidates. It’s not like Jesse Jackson, Jr, was in a mental hospital for months before the November election and had to resign afterward.

Let’s not talk about the mental health of (former) Congressman David Wu, who was also accused of (I don’t know the final disposition) of statutory rape.

Let’s not talk about the mental health of candidates because it’s not like George McGovern had to dump his running mate, Thomas Eagleton, who had undergone EST and had a mental breakdown requiring hospitalisation.

Let’s not talk about George Romney’s claim that he was ‘brainwashed’ because, like, you know, Democrats didn’t (rightly) make a big deal out of it.

I can go on, but let’s just not talk about the mental condition of people, who seek higher office. I mean, who cares if the people making decisions about our healthcare, economy, financial transactions, education, children, housing, foreign policy, etc, are complete whackjobs? What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

So liberals were (rightfully) angry about a wiretapping that led to the fall of an American President, but has no trouble concentrating on the content of them doing to a republican rather than staying on topic and talking about the crime itself.

Look, I understand that, as the saying goes, politics ain’t beanbag. But is attacking a person for having bouts of depression, which McConnell team certainly had in mind, any better than attacking them for their race?

Look, I understand that, as the saying goes, politics ain’t beanbag. But is attacking a person for having bouts of depression, which McConnell team certainly had in mind, any better than attacking them for their race?

Look, I understand that, as the saying goes, politics ain’t beanbag. But is attacking a person for having bouts of depression, which McConnell team (sic) certainly had in mind, any better than attacking them for their race?

chumpThreads on April 12, 2013 at 10:15 AM

It’s very simple. Look at the picture of Palin taken five weeks before the birth of Trig and tell me if she looks three months pregnant for five.

Yeah, I missed the part where Judd broke into laughter about her condition.

What page was that on?

chumpThreads on April 12, 2013 at 10:18 AM

I would have laughed, too, at the meeting when told that Ashley Judd compared herself to St Francis of Assisi and talked about ‘Brother Donkey, Sister Bird!’

And…

When she said that ‘it is unconscionable to breed’ while there are so many starving children in the world.’

And, at the part she said…

‘To this day, a common vestige of male dominion over a woman’s reproductive status is her father ‘giving’ away her away to her husband at their wedding, and the ongoing practice of women giving up their last names in order to assume the name of their husband’s families, into which they have effectively been traded.’

And, when she said:

‘Throughout history, men have tried to control the means of reproduction, which means trying to control woman. This president is a modern day Attila the Hun.’

And, when she said (knowing how toxic both would be in Kentucky):

‘Patriarchal religions, of which Christianity is one, gives us a God that is like a man, a God presented and discussed exclusively in male imagery, which legitimizes and seals male power. It is the intention to dominate, even if the intention to dominate is nowhere visible.’

What’s funny is that Palin has been given a complete pass on a story she told that reveals her as having put the safety of her child in jeopardy for reasons that make no sense to a reasonable person. Or she’s a liar.

Repeat, this is her story. Why doesn’t she clear it up and end the speculation?

Look, I understand that, as the saying goes, politics ain’t beanbag. But is attacking a person for having bouts of depression, which McConnell team certainly had in mind, any better than attacking them for their race?

chumpThreads on April 12, 2013 at 10:15 AM

As the Washington Post noted, there was nothing said or done at McConnell’s strategy session that is not done at EVERY well-run campaign.

IOW, you’d be a FOOL not to discuss all op-research. The fact that it was discussed does not mean that it would have been used.

You don’t think McCain had sessions with his staff where the subject of Obama’s radical ties and Jeremiah Wright didn’t come up? Of course they did. McCain made the decision not to use any of it.

hawkdriver tried to give you some serious competition, but your post above won going away:

In Internet slang, a troll (pron.: /ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is someone who posts inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[

Your comments about the Palin Family was “trolling”. I’m asking why you’d say something like that and then complain about your characterization of McConnell’s comments? (On a thread where the topic is your side illegally wiretapping)

Your intent with all of those off-topic Judd quotes was to derail the thread, since refuting my OP was out of the question.

You concentrating on the content of the taped conversation was sidetracking the thread’s chief point that the wire-tapping had even occurred.

Why not just admit, “yeah, McConnell’s a hypocrite about this” and be done with it?

How can you call anyone a hypocrite considering what you’ve said about the Palin’s and then acting like you’re indignant about McConnell? You said it’s not beanbag and seem to like the rules when it suits you here; what with being a Trig Truther and all. Does it bother you how that dialogue hurts the Palin Family?

We can both agree that if the law was broken, somebody need to go to jail, yes?

chumpThreads on April 12, 2013 at 10:45 AM

I’m satisfied. I hope a lot of your people go to jail. Mark the calendar.

I have a problem with McConnell and his staff gleefully preparing to play the “emotionally unstable” card on Judd because she’s suffered from depression. How cheap and cowardly can McConnell get? chumpThreads on April 12, 2013 at 10:23 AM

The truth is an absolute defense. If she didn’t want people to know she was a whack job, she shouldn’t have ever opened her mouth in public.

— On her decision not to have kids with her husband: “It’s unconscionable to breed, with the number of children who are starving to death in impoverished countries.”

– On fathers giving daughters away at weddings: “To this day, a common vestige of male dominion over a woman’s reproductive status is her father ‘giving’ away her away to her husband at their wedding, and the ongoing practice of women giving up their last names in order to assume the name of their husband’s families, into which they have effectively been traded.”

– On how Christianity “legitimizes” male power over women: “Patriarchal religions, of which Christianity is one, gives us a God that is like a man, a God presented and discussed exclusively in male imagery, which legitimizes and seals male power. It is the intention to dominate, even if the intention to dominate is nowhere visible.”

– On men: “Throughout history, men have tried to control the means of reproduction, which means trying to control woman. This president is a modern day Attila the Hun.”

Is knowing about these things wrong, or just repeating them? If someone who holds these views were running for the US Senate, wouldn’t it be irresponsible not to ensure that voters have such info?

Remember when both Democrats AND Republicans said that McCain was UNSTABLE and chumpThreads not only failed to complain, but enjoyed it?

‘Every living soul on this planet has some highly-justified anger. Everyone. If you know anybody who was a P.O.W. for any time, they can be going on for years and all of a sudden something will happen that will trigger all those bad memories.’

– President Bill Clinton, Democrat, 5 July 2008

I wonder to which candidate he could have POSSIBLY been referring. Can you?

‘This just shows that McCain is mentally unstable and out of control and vindictive. If he is determined to go through that much trouble to attack a district committee chairman, what does that say about his ability to handle real political problems?’

THEY DISCUSSED THOSE QUOTES DURING THE MEETING. How are they OFF-TOPIC?

How is McConnell a hypocrite?

Of course political strategists discuss ways of attacking the opponent, but there’s a line that has to be drawn. Progress KY clearly crossed the line in going after McConnell’s wife for her race and McConnell’s people clearly crossed the line in bringing up Judd’s depression issue.

I’ve already explained that McConnell is a hypocrite for being (rightfully) outraged about the one and acquiescing to the other.

Progress Kentucky made a racist comment about McConnell’s wife. As we are constantly reminded when Democrats get into trouble, ‘families should be off-limits.’

Elaine Chao WAS NOT and IS NOT running for office.

On the other hand, Ashley Judd WAS contemplating a run for office. SHE IS NOT OFF-LIMITS.

Resist We Much on April 12, 2013 at 10:51 AM

No, technically Judd was not off limits.

It’s just reasonable to expect the incumbent to have some limits, even if they aren’t imposed on him.

As long as McConnell outrage was “legal”, I guess the hypocrisy doesn’t count.

‘Look, I love John McCain. He is one of my dearest friends, but at the same time, he is also dangerously unbalanced. I mean, let’s be frank, John McCain — and again this is a man I would take a bullet for — he’s bad at his job and mentally unstable.’

– Jason Sudeikis said in his SNL impersonation of Biden’s veep debate performance

So McConnell is (rightfully) angry about remarks made against his wife’s ethnicity, but has no trouble plotting to attack a potential opponent because she has suffered from depression.

chumpThreads on April 12, 2013 at 9:53 AM

I’ve lived for much of my life with two people who suffered from depression. It does affect your capacity for many things. Your race does not affect your capacity; so your attempt to equate the two is wrong.

The ad on McConnell starts by saying the senator opposes background checks at gun shows. It then cuts to footage of a 2011 Al Qaeda video in which American-born spokesman Adam Gadahn talks about how easy it supposedly is to get a weapon in America.

“You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle without a background check, most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?” he asks.

McConnell had better prosecute this as hard as he can, because he’ll get no help from the media. But my guess is he’ll flounder, waiting for the FBI to “complete their investigation”, once again confirming the view that he does not have the leadership skills to stand up for himself.

It matters less that the opposition broke the law, but rather what he proposes to do about it.